Much of what we know of history has come to us through literature. The ancient Sumerian clay tablets and the Egyptian hieroglyphs became the chief sources of information, once the script was deciphered. The literature left behind by empires, monarchs and common people has made it possible for us to understand how the people in the past lived. We know about the kind of food they ate and the clothes they wore. The details became vivid in the late Middle Ages, when printing became popular and the number of books increased significantly.
But history is complicated. We don’t always have the luxury of knowing the past by reading clay tablets or browsing through hieroglyphs. The case of Sindhu Sarasvati Civilisation (SSC) is one of those complicated chapters of history. Discovered almost a hundred years ago, the SSC culture is yet to be fully understood by archaeologists and historians. The reason why we know so little about the culture is due to the absence of any written documents. Though there are seals, pottery and copper plates, which have symbols of the SSC script, it has not been deciphered, yet. There are no bilingual texts to be read and deciphered. The cryptic texts excavated so far are too short to make any meaningful conclusions.
In the absence of meaningful texts or literature, the historians look at indirect evidence to understand history. In the case of SSC, the indirect evidence has come in the form of seals and pottery. The painted pots, cups, jars and the terracotta figurines of the Harappan period tell us a story, which needs to be heard and understood. Though the National Museum has a wonderful collection in its Harappan gallery, most of the items on display lack proper introduction or narration.
In an attempt to bring you the stories of the pots and figurines of Harappa, I interacted with Dr Arvind Rautela, research officer at the National Museum in Delhi. In a freewheeling conversation Dr Rautela reveals that much of the pots and figurines that have survived are in fact toys. Very few people know this, but once informed, the puzzle of miniature pots in the Harappan gallery makes absolute sense. The small pots and lids that we see on display are actually part of toy sets. The curators at the museum have attempted to put together a complete kitchen set, including a hearth. Displayed in the gallery the hearth is a small cuboid structure, which even has black soot marks on its inner walls. Perhaps an indicator that it was a functional kitchen set, used by the kids to cook mini-meals.
Dr Rautela points to the miniature mask (depicting a human face) in the gallery as the next toy set. He explains that the small size (5 cm x 3 cm) of the mask clearly indicates its use as a toy. It was probably used by children to play with or as a prop in a puppet show. Apart from the human faced masks, other masks depicting a combination of animal features too have been excavated. The set of holes on either side of the masks were meant for the strings to be fastened on to a puppet or on other toy figurines.
One of the most interesting sets of figurines in the gallery is that of women in different acts and poses. These figurines are depicted wearing head gears, in ornate jewelry, as a pregnant woman, nursing infants, playing with a child and bathing a child. These female figurines have been identified as the Mother Goddess by some historians. Dr Rautela, however, has an alternate hypothesis. He believes that apart from their identification as the Mother Goddess, these figurines could also have been art objects, depicting the various acts women during that period engaged in. This is a plausible hypothesis, especially since even today human terracotta figurines are made depicting both men and women engaging in routine activities like weaving, cooking, carrying water, etc. These figurines could well have been a 5000-year-old version of modern-day Barbie, engaged in various daily activities it goes through.
Apart from the kitchen toy sets and female figurines, the Harappan gallery also displays mechanical toys. These include functional toy carts with miniature bulls, animals with moving heads attached to strings and animals on wheels to be pulled around by children. All this indicates a very evolved society, which had both the intent and the resources to engage in leisure activities and development of craft for leisure.
Apart from the toy pots, the functional pottery of Harappa too finds a large space in the gallery. Perforated jars, bowls, eating plates, cooking and storage pots have beautiful geometric patterns painted in natural pigment. Some pots have floral designs while others have animals and human figures painted on them. Out of the many pots on display, one of the most interesting displays is that of a burial urn. Apart from the stunning animal figures painted on the pot, it is the interpretation of the painting that is of significance.
Dr Rautela believes that the painting is a depiction of the Hindu belief of the journey of the soul after death. The painting depicts a pair of swans flying away, indicating the departure of the soul from the body. The next scene is that of humans flanked by two horned animals on either side (probably cattle) with a ferocious dog attacking one of the animals. The scene on the pot is strikingly similar to the Hindu belief that upon death, the soul has to cross the Vaitarini (the mythical river between the land of the living and the land of the dead) to enter the netherworld. For the crossing over, the soul needs cattle. Once the soul crosses over, Sharvara, one of the guarding hounds at the gates of Yama attacks the soul. Yama then judges the deeds performed by the soul and assigns it a place in the cycle of rebirth.
Apart from Dr Rautela’s assumption of the connection between the Harappan internment practices and the Hindu belief system, a paper by Dr Amarendra Nath, former ASI director also attests to the connection. In his paper Dr Nath draws many parallels between the burial practices of the Harappans and the burial guidelines in various Vedic sources.
Though there is a paucity of information when it comes to Harappan culture, the pots and toys of Harappa do have a story to tell. They tell us about the artistic bent of mind the Harappans had and the efforts they put into making sure the children had enough toys to engage in. The burial urns show a very clear thread of continuous religious and cultural beliefs from the Harappan times, well into the modern times.
The writer is a business consultant by profession and a history enthusiast by passion. He has published a book on ancient Indian history titled ‘Essays on Indic History’. Views expressed are personal.
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